Some 800,000 seniors will not receive federal stimulus checks unless they file a tax return

Friday

Feb 29, 2008 at 12:01 AMFeb 29, 2008 at 1:04 AM

With millions of senior citizens anxiously waiting for their federal stimulus checks to help cover rising food and medical costs, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer Wednesday revealed that more than 800,000 of New York state’s most vulnerable residents could be deprived of the rebate checks owed to them as part of the recently passed economic stimulus package.

Staff reports

With millions of senior citizens anxiously waiting for their federal stimulus checks to help cover rising food and medical costs, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer Wednesday revealed that more than 800,000 of New York state’s most vulnerable residents could be deprived of the rebate checks owed to them as part of the recently passed economic stimulus package.

The senator said while New York’s low-income Social Security recipients are in line to receive checks of $300 this spring, they will only receive the federal stimulus checks if they file an income tax return this year, something they have never been required to do in the past.

“The bottom line is that the stimulus package was designed to help people — not confuse them, and certainly not to exclude the ones who need it most,” said Schumer, D-NY. “For the sake of citizens across New York, as well as our entire national economy — we need to make absolutely sure that every person, senior or otherwise, receives their check as quickly as possible. If you are a low-income Social Security recipient who usually would not file a tax return, then you must file a formal return by April 15 to receive a rebate check.”

Schumer said seniors must do this because Social Security files and Internal Revenue Service databases are completely separate, and from year to year, seniors who receive Social Security checks, but do not file taxes, would only be included in the Social Security database and left out of the IRS database. The people who receive checks will be based on the IRS database and not the Social Security database to avoid duplications.

The senator said that this means that roughly one-third of all seniors entitled to checks may not receive them unless they know to file a return.

He also noted that New York’s thousands of low-income disabled veterans, who usually would not file a tax return, will have to file a return by the April 15 deadline to receive the rebate.

Earlier this month, Congress passed and President George W. Bush approved a stimulus package that rushes rebates of $600 to $1,200 to most taxpayers and $300 checks to disabled veterans, the elderly and other low-income people. In general, for taxpayers that owe at least $1 in federal income taxes in 2007, the amount of the rebate will be $600 for a single person and $1,200 for a married couple, plus an additional $300 per child. For taxpayers that do not owe federal income taxes, but have at least $3,000 in earned income, self-employment income, veterans’ disability payments (including payments to survivors of veterans) or Social Security benefits, the amount of the rebate will be $300 for a single person and $600 for a married couple, plus an additional $300 per child.